Exclusive: President Obama Says Voter Anger, Frustration Key to Republican Victory in Massachusetts Senate

Jan. 20, 2010— -- President Obama warned Democrats in Congress today not to "jam" a health care reform bill through now that they've lost their commanding majority in the Senate, and said they must wait for newly elected Massachusetts Republican Scott Brown to be sworn into office.

The president also said the same voter anger that swept him into office in 2008 carried Brown into office on a stunning upset victory Tuesday night over heavily favored Democrat Martha Coakley.

Watch George Stephanopoulos' exclusive interview with President Obama today on "Nightline" and tomorrow on "Good Morning America". Check your local listings.

"Here's my assessment of not just the vote in Massachusetts, but the mood around the country: the same thing that swept Scott Brown into office swept me into office," the president said in an exclusive interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos. "People are angry and they are frustrated. Not just because of what's happened in the last year or two years, but what's happened over the last eight years."

Brown defeated Coakley in the special election to replace the late Sen. Ted Kennedy. Obama said that while the White House was surprised about the trajectory of the race a week ago, they were not, by last night, surprised by Brown's upset win.

With his victory, Brown becomes the 41st Republican vote in the Senate -- meaning Democrats have lost the 60 seat super-majority they need in the Senate to avoid a Republican filibuster.

Obama insisted today that the Senate wait for Brown to be seated before they make any changes to its version of the health care reform legislation.

"Here's one thing I know and I just want to make sure that this is off the table: The Senate certainly shouldn't try to jam anything through until Scott Brown is seated," the president said. "People in Massachusetts spoke. He's got to be part of that process."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid got the message – today he said the Senate would not push a bill through before Brown is seated.

"We're not going to rush into anything," he said on Capitol Hill. "As you've heard, we're going to wait until the new senator arrives before we do anything more on health care. There are many different things that we can do to move forward on health care, but we're not making any of those decisions now."